WAUSAU — The Wausau division of Green Bay Packaging will have some job opportunities over the next several years, and that's something that doesn't happen too often.

Because of upcoming retirements, the division, which manufactures corrugated containers for customers throughout the Midwest, expects to have about 25 openings to fill over the next five years, said Scott Aschenbrenner, Green Bay Packaging Wausau Division vice president and general manager.

That's notable. Last year, the division — which recently marked its 50th anniversary — had a turnover of just 0.37 percent, Aschenbrenner said.

"When people arrive, they stay," said Aschenbrenner. "I've been involved in some local business discussions and their turnover is 10, 15 percent. It's just, wow, I don't know how they survive."

One of the division's longtime employees is 60-year-old operations manager Gary Porath, who's closing in on 42 years with the company.

Porath, of Merrill, said the family-owned company does a good job of putting money back into the operation to help it stay on the cutting edge of technology, and that helps with longevity.

"So the reinvestment the corporate people are doing within the company helps us keep a good competitive edge as well as the ability to retain our employees," Porath said.

"It's just a good company to work for. They treat their employees well," Porath said.

Green Bay Packaging was started in 1933 by George Kress, who offered the alternative of corrugated shipping containers to customers who were using expensive, cumbersome wooden crates to send their products to customers.

The Wausau division — a full-service manufacturer of corrugated containers, displays and other packaging — started in 1964 on North First Avenue before moving to its current location on Packer Drive five years later.

The division, which employs about 180 workers in its 300,000 square-foot facility, serves a number of markets, including food service, agriculture, publishing, retail, and industrial manufacturing. Customers include Marathon Cheese, Nestle, Land O'Lakes and Worldwide Packaging.

Ron Umland, 51, of Weston, has worked at the company for 33 years. Yes, your math is right. He started when he was just 18.

Umland said he had just graduated from Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School and was in Canada fishing when he got the job offer.

"I graduated on May 22 and I think I started on June 14," Umland said.

He said he got plenty of advice with regard to his job search coming out of high school, but he's happy with his choice.

"Everybody told you to go to Wausau Insurance or Wausau Paper, that was kind of the staple of the community," Umland said. "Well, they're not here anymore and this place still is."

Aschenbrenner said providing high-quality products and top-notch customer service are two keys to the company's success.

He said the business also needs to be agile enough to respond to customers' demands, many of which come without much notice.

"So when a company such as Nestle gets a phone call from a company such as Walmart, they're relying on their suppliers being able to turn something around that maybe wasn't in the schedule, wasn't in the plan, and that's where we are really, really focused on creating our whole site around flexibility," Aschenbrenner said.

Bob Dohr can be reached at 715-845-0660. Find him on Twitter as @BobDohr1.